1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging control device and an imaging control method which is able to obtain an imaging image with simple operations which reflects preferences of a user.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a factor in deciding exposure in photograph imaging, there is an ISO (International Organization for Standardization) value (which means sensitivity), shutter speed, and a lens aperture value (referred to as F-number). When considering the ISO value as fixed, shutter speed and the F-number are adjusted and the amount of exposure is controlled. An EV (exposure value) number (appropriately referred to as EV value) is allocated to a combination of shutter speed and F-number where the amount of exposure is the same.
Automatic exposure (AE) is the automatic control of shutter speed and the F-number according to the brightness of a subject. As methods of automatic exposure, there are three types of methods. That is, there are shutter priority AE, aperture priority AE, and program AE. The shutter priority AE (referred to as S mode) is a method where, when the photographer sets a desired shutter speed, the F-number is automatically controlled in a camera so that there is an appropriate EV value. The aperture priority AE (referred to as A mode) is a method where, when the photographer sets a preferred F-number, the shutter speed is automatically controlled in a camera so that there is an appropriate EV value. The program AE (auto mode) is a method of setting in advance a recommended combination of the F-number and the shutter speed with regard to an EV value.
In an actual camera, for example, a digital single-lens imaging device, furthermore, it is possible to set a photographing mode corresponding to the subject (scene selection mode) or a mode where exposure is manually decided (referred to as M mode). The scene selection mode selects a scene by, for example, a user rotating a mode selection dial. Here, scene is a term expressing types of subjects. “People”, “landscape”, “direct light”, “backlighting” and the like are examples of scenes.
Furthermore, a mode is proposed where scene selection is performed automatically by the imaging device (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-60195). The mode is called intelligent auto. In intelligent auto mode, the imaging device analyses an image during imaging, detects characteristics of the image, recognizes a scene from the characteristics, and an imaging mode is automatically selected corresponding to the recognized scene. That is, in the intelligent auto mode, the camera automatically recognizes the scene and sets optimal parameters without any particular setting by a user.
The intelligent auto mode is where the camera sets a combination of an F-number, shutter speed, an ISO value, a white balance value, and a creative style value appropriate for the scene (type of subject). An image style corresponding to imaging intention and characteristics of a photographer is the creative style value. The F-number, shutter speed, and the ISO value are imaging conditions, and the white balance value and the creative style value are conditions of image processing.
There are cases when a user does not want to rely on the camera and wants to take a photograph where the parameter values are changed and setting is performed by the user. For example, in a case of wanting to take a photograph where the background is out of focus, an operation is performed where the mode is set to A mode and an aperture is opened (the F-number is reduced). It is necessary for a photographer to have knowledge relating to the depth of field in out-of-focus adjusting. By increasing the F-number, it is possible to increase the depth of field, and by decreasing the F-number, it is possible to reduce the depth of field.